Jordan and Tracey Smith of Madison, Maine, were scheduled to close on their first home on Friday. But the government shutdown has gotten in the way.

The couple needs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help finalize their mortgage that is guaranteed by the agency. But the USDA’s operations have been closed for 13 days,so the couple and their five children remain in limbo.

“We’re living out of boxes. We’re paying our landlord on a week-to-week basis, but he has people waiting to move in,” says Jordan Smith, 32. “We just want to move and get this process over with.”

It's the same for other borrowers who depend on the USDA. The department provides – through private lenders – mortgages with no down payment requirements and low interest rates and fees to rural and suburban homebuyers. It’s a small program, helping just over 140,000 people to buy a home in 2017, but is considered one of the best options around if you’re eligible.

“We just can’t close a USDA loan without a commitment letter from them. “Your loan is at a standstill,” says Pava Leyrer, the chief operating office of Northern Mortgage Services in Grandville, Michigan. Leyrer's company is an approved USDA lender.

Leyrer is telling her affected clients to call their representatives. Otherwise, they may ultimately need to switch into a different loan. "How long will the seller wait, especially if the sales contract expires?" she says.

Waiting for repair money

In other cases, those who already have a USDA mortgage are running into trouble. Jenneffer Azcuy, a homeowner in Lynn Haven, Florida, with a USDA mortgage, is waiting to get the insurance money she needs to repair her house after it was damaged by Hurricane Michael in October.

“Since my insurance repair check is over $7,500, the USDA controls the disbursement of funds,” Azcuy says. “But the money is tied up.”

On mortgages it guarantees, the USDA requires that it oversees how insurance claims funds are used to make sure they are spent properly. When insured losses exceed $7,500, the agency requires the funds to be deposited into an escrow account it controls.

Jenneffer Azcuy (left) surveys the damage to her home after Hurricane Michael with her sister, Sasha Azcuy, and friend, James Clive.(Photo: https://andyswann.co.uk)

Azcuy has a contractor lined up to repair her leaky roof, replace a fence, and fix the gutters and outside doors. She has called the USDA for help but can’t leave messages because the voicemail is full.

“It’s ridiculous. This town is devastated as it is from the hurricane," she says.

What about other mortgages?

The other mortgages backed by the government are unaffected so far by the shutdown. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Veterans Administration – which all back home loans – are running as normal.

The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees mortgages popular among first-time homebuyers, is operating with a smaller staff because of the shutdown but is still approving loans.

"You can get some answers," Leyrer says, but adds: "They are slower to respond, and it takes longer to get through on the phone because of limited staff."

Jordan Smith and his wife, Tracey, pose in front of an overlook in Madison, Maine.(Photo: Jordan Smith)

Lenders are also working around other shutdown-induced hiccups.

For instance, they can’t verify a person’s tax information with the Internal Revenue Service, which has limited services. As a result, many lenders are still approving those loans conditionally and will confirm the information later when the IRS reopens, says John Stearns, a loan originator with American Fidelity Mortgage Services in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“If there is a problem, then I have to figure it out then,” Stearns says.

On Capitol Hill

Azcuy and the Smiths hope the new House of Representatives convening on Thursday can end the shutdown. Democratic House leaders have scheduled votes on a package of bills to reopen the federal government and provide more time for Congress to negotiate a border funding deal with the White House.

Until then, they wait.

“My wife and I support Donald Trump. We agree with border security,” Jordan Smith says. “But he has to look and see that this is affecting other people’s lives.”